generates same number in Linux, but not in Windows

Question

The code below is meant to generate a list of five pseudo-random numbers in the interval [1,100]. I seed the default_random_engine with time(0), wh

Answer 1

In Linux, the random function is not a random function in the probabilistic sense of the way, but a pseudo random number generator. It is salted with a seed, and based on that seed, the numbers that are produced are pseudo random and uniformly distributed. The Linux way has the advantage that in the design of certain experiments using information from populations, that the repeat of the experiment with known tweaking of input information can be measured. When the final program is ready for real-life testing, the salt (seed), can be created by asking for the user to move the mouse, mix the mouse movement with some keystrokes and add in a dash of microsecond counts since the beginning of the last power on.

Windows random number seed is obtained from the collection of mouse, keyboard, network and time of day numbers. It is not repeatable. But this salt value may be reset to a known seed, if as mentioned above, one is involved in the design of an experiment.

Oh yes, Linux has two random number generators. One, the default is modulo 32bits, and the other is modulo 64bits. Your choice depends on the accuracy needs and amount of compute time you wish to consume for your testing or actual use.